Both of his parents were teachers, which was a disgraced profession after the Cultural Revolution;[3] his father made $7 per month.

[5] He made the first electric lamp in his village using two batteries, a bulb, a self-made wooden box, and some wires.

He became the CEO of the company in 1998 and led it towards an initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2007.

[10] In 2010, Lei founded Xiaomi with multiple partners, including former Google executive Lin Bin.

He later made donations to Zhuhai Charity, an organization that funds schools for migrants, the villagers of Yangchun for the renovation of schools and mudbrick houses and construction of cultural buildings, the victims of the 2013 Lushan earthquake, and was a participant in the Ice Bucket Challenge to raise funds for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

[21] In 2019, Lei was recognized as an "Outstanding Builder of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics", which caused the United States Department of Defense to add Xiaomi to a list of companies that support China’s military in January 2021.